Will iconic images recorded in the grooves of an ancient vase unite the Holy Land or rip it further apart?

THE VASE

A novel by Mark M. DeRobertis

Muhsin Muhabi is a Palestinian potter, descended from a long line of potters. His business is run from the same shop owned by his ancestors since the day his forebears moved to Nazareth. The region's conflict saw the death of his oldest son, and rogue terrorists are in the process of recruiting his youngest in their plot to assassinate the Pope and Israeli prime minister.

Professor Hiram Weiss is an art historian at Nazareth’s Bethel University. He is also a Shin Bet operative on special assignment. With the help of fellow agent, Captain Benny Mathias, he plans to destroy the gang responsible for the death of his wife and only child. He puts a bomb in the ancient vase he takes on loan from Muhsin’s Pottery Shop.

Mary Levin, the charming assistant to the director of Shin Bet, has lost a husband and most of her extended family to recurring wars and never-ending terrorism. She dedicates her life to the preservation of Israel, but to whom will she dedicate her heart? The brilliant professor from Bethel University? Or the gallant captain who now leads Kidon?

Harvey Holmes, the Sherlock of Haunted Houses, is a Hollywood TV host whose reality show just flopped. When a Lebanese restaurant owner requests his ghost-hunting services, he believes the opportunity will resurrect his career. All he has to do is exorcise the ghosts that are haunting the restaurant. It happens to be located right across the street from Muhsin’s Pottery Shop.




Monday, June 23, 2014

Blog Name

My blog is named THE VASE. Obviously I named it after my second novel The Vase. I began this blog calling it The Swamp. But I wanted to name it after my first published  book, and for a while my first published book was going to be The Vase.

But things change. The Vase was not published first, Killer of Killers was. And that was fitting, since Killer of Killers was the first book I wrote. I won't rehash the details, but what if my blog did get named Killer of Killers after my first published book?

I would have this as the photo header:
 
And obviously, that would stand, because it's a great photo of the cover of my book.
And I'd have to change all the text that accompanies the title. Instead of introducing the characters in The Vase, like I do above, I'd be listing the characters in KOK.

Starting with the world's greatest martial artist, Trent Smith. And his love interest Samantha Jones. Then there's Shoji and Yoshiko Wada, Susie Quinn, Abraham Soriah, Charles Morgan, and Samantha's brother, Josh Jones. I'd have to put in a couple sentences about each one, like I did for The Vase above.

But for some reason I won't do that. I think leaving this as The Vase is good and the characters above work well. Doesn't mean I won't change my mind in the future. Especially since I have actors pegged already for most of the parts. Just Susie Quinn's actress eludes me. One day I'll figure that out. One day soon.

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